I treat every race the same. We all wanted to swim fast today and give something back to the crowd.
I want to go to the World Cup. I want to go to the Masters. I want to go... anywhere.
I used to always go to church on holidays, but I don't go much any more.
My goal is one Olympic gold medal. Not many people in this world can say, 'I'm an Olympic gold medalist.'
I believe in God; I'm not saying I'm highly religious.
This is the first medal I've ever won in an international meet. For it to be gold is incredible. It feels great. I can't explain it.
I like to get in my own world. When I'm getting ready for a meet, I always have headphones on, listening to rap music to get myself fired up
When we got in the race, we knew what we had to do and knew what we wanted to do. Having three of four guys from the American record 800 free relay is a pretty solid relay, so we thought we could take a crack at the U.S. Open record tonight. We're all a little tired, but that's fifth-fastest American relay ever, so it's not a bad time. We ended tonight on a great note.
I wanted to get the fastest time in the world this year, but with everything going on, it's a pretty decent swim, ... I knew I was under world record pace. You could tell by the crowd. You can always tell at these meets when something good is going on because of the crowd.
There are so many things that I still want to do. My foundation, growing my brand . . . the list is endless. I'm honestly busier now than I was when I was swimming. It's kind of weird, but I feel like more of an adult because I have to do stuff every day. Whether it's checking emails or making phone calls or doing this and that, it's fun for me. It's the start of a new chapter. At times, it is frustrating, but I know it's not going to be easy to accomplish the goals that I want.
I've been around water my whole life, so I basically really learned at a young age the importance of it but also one day, at one point, clean water will be hard to find. There's so many people throughout the world that don't have access to clean water. Obviously we're extremely fortunate to have the opportunities that we have and to have all the water that we have. Like I said, and I can't say it enough, we all should work together to try and conserve as much as we possible can.
I don't like to be second in anything. I was trying, I just wasn't going anywhere.
There is a one woman in China that claimed she paid $50 to get my e-mail address. It was pretty shocking. I got one this morning from Scotland. A girl's requesting a signed photo of me.
Every day, there's always something to be worried about; you turn on the news and see something different every day, and it's terrible. Hopefully, as Americans, and as the inhabitants of the world, we can come together. We need to change lives - whether that's conserving water, destigmatizing mental health treatment or something else. We can change lives.
And, you know, being able to wear the stars and stripes, when you step up on one of the blocks or, you know, when you step off of an airplane or when you hear the national anthem play, you know, it's one of the greatest feelings in the world because you know that there are people at home who are supporting you and watching you.
If we can continue to come together and work on small things little by little, at least it's something. It's a start. At least now there's a lot more talk about climate change and the Earth's state than when I was a kid. I guess it's better late than never? But it's also very tricky because this is something that's so important to so many of us, and a lot of people don't see it that way. But hopefully, we can get all our points across to them - one by one, one person at a time.
I'm satisfied in a way because this is an eye opener for me, ... I didn't have the success I've always been able to have. I learned a lot.
And I hope seeing a therapist becomes 10 times easier in the future. For me, once I came out of treatment, I got into a therapist and continued my road to recovery and health and happiness. But not everyone can do that. It's challenging to see a therapist when you work full-time, when you can't get an appointment within a week, and then by the time you do get one, maybe you feel like your "problem" has lessened and you don't bother to go in. It's about access.
Coming into tonight, I knew it was going to be a great race, ... In the 400, Laszlo put up a 4:10.1 earlier in the year, and so you expect him to put up a good time in (the 200). I knew Ryan was going to be fast coming off his short course season, and he's improved a lot since Athens, so I just wanted to go out there and relax a bit and go out there and do what I had to do.
Every day after I wake up, I think, 'Wait... this can't be real; I'm still going to wake up.'
My mom never really pushed me into doing something. It was kind of whatever I wanted to do, and that was what made me continue and have the longevity that I had in my career. I went through ups and downs in the pool when I loved it and when I hated it.
My mom put me and my sisters in the water to feel comfortable, to have water safety.
I consider myself normal. I've spent 20 years in the pool. I consider that something that's normal.
I live a pretty conservative life, so I probably really haven't done anything crazy.
Once I'm already in my room, I still have to open a door to get into my bed. It's like a giant box. It's like the boy in a bubble.
